Mako Mermaids The HBO Version
by murshaad
Summary: Okay, my friends and I were drinking wine and watching a marathon of "Mako Mermaids", we had just finished a binge viewing of "Teen Wolf" and "Spartacus: Blood And Sand" and got to thinking; "What would season two of Mako be like if it was on a premium cable station like HBO and had a bigger budget, and was geared toward a more adult audience…." ? So this story was born. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Mako Mermaids the HBO Version, Chapter One

"Zac! Zac!" Lyla screamed in panic as she ignored the pain and blood from the cuts on her cheeks. With the help of Nixie, she held Zacs head above the water of the Moonpool as they both shook him in an attempt to get him to breath. "Wake up! Please wake up!"

"Zac, can you hear us, Zac?" Nixie pleaded, and glanced across the Moonpool to where Sirena was huddled. The blonde mermaid had one her hand pressed to a deep gash in her forehead to stem the flow of blood, her blue eyes wide with fear.

Zacs expression was blank; his eyes an open stare focused on the moon as it shone through the glittering volcanic shaft above them, his body limp and unresponsive in the arms of the two mermaids that shook him.

"Please Zac, wake up, please," Lyla sobbed, pulling Zacs lifeless body against her own and rock him. "Don't do this to me, please Zac. Wake up!"

"Lyla," Nixie said and winced as she touched the side of her face which had started to swell in an angry bruise, she glanced across the pool at the Sirena again, and continued. "We, we might have to accept that he's-"

"He's not DEAD!" Lyla shouted. "He can't be dead! Nobody dies like that! Mermaids...Zac, can't drown! Shut up!"

Nixie looked at Lyla and said softly. "But we CAN drown Lyla, we aren't fish, we might have the tails of fish but we are not fish! I'm just saying that maybe…maybe we need to face reality."

"NO!" Lyla screamed. "NO WE DON'T!" She backhanded Zac as Nixie and Sirena stared at her in horror, Lyla's blow rocked Zacs head to the side as she screamed, "Wake up! I won't let you die on me!" Zac convulsed in her arms as she shook him, his mouth opened to inhale a deep breath. "Nixie! Help me!" Lyla shouted as Zac vomited a stream of pinkish seawater.

Nixie reached for Zac and helped pull the heavier and stronger merman over to the side of the Moonpool as he continued to vomit and cough. Nixie risked a glance up at the moon shining down on them. "Thank you, whoever you are, thank you!"

"Zac, can you hear me," Lyla asked as she and Nixie supported Zac as he gagged and coughed blood onto the stones that encircled the Moonpool.

Zac turned his head to look at Lyla his eyes blood shot and unfocused, and then turned his head to vomit again. "Where am I," He managed to croak before his stomach convulsed once again and he threw up.

Lyla pulled Zac to her and hugged him close. "We're still in the Moonpool on Mako; please tell me you're okay. We thought we lost you."

Zac disentangled himself from Lyla's embrace and vomited thick green bile that splattered onto the black rocks of the Moonpool and laid his head in his arms, forehead resting on the cool stones as Lyla and Nixies hovered over him. "Mako? What, what happened?" He asked again as turned his head to look at Lyla.

Lyla glanced at Nixie, and then over at Sirena, she gave a nervous swallow before she looked back at Zac and said, "We…we were all waiting for the moon to rise and were talking, and then you,… You're eyes changed color… and, and then-"

"You started screaming about 'Plops' and 'Nurtese', and 'Amfitie," Sirena interrupted from across the pool. "And rocks started flying around and everything was shaking."

"Zac," Lyla asked. "Do you remember anything? That," She pointed over to the broken remains of the Trident and its large Moonstone where it had lain undisturbed for the past month as they tried to figure out what to do with it. "Started glowing, first it was blue like our Moonrings, and then it turned green, and, and fire shot out of it-"

"That's when you started screaming and hitting us and all the rocks started shaking and flying around," Nixie finished picking up Lylas story. "Then you sank down in the water, we tried to help but you kept hitting us. We thought the cave would collapse and you were going to drown."

Zac stared at the three mermaids and then looked around the cave chamber with blood shot eyes. A section of wall the size of a small car had been dislodged, and boulders, some of them the size of dining room tables had been scattered around the cave. "I, I did this?" Zac whispered. "How did I do this?"

"Yes," Lyla said softly. "You did all of it, we…we all knew you had Powers, like we have, but we've never seen anyone have them so strong, even our old pod leader, Oceana was never that strong."

"I..I don't remember anything," Zac said and held his hands against his head. "Oh God, that hurts." He took several deep breaths as his body trembled, his tan skin pale in the blue glow of the Moonpool. "I remember we were talking about that pod of whales we saw earlier, waiting for the moon to rise, and then, and then, I don't know what happened after that." He laid his head back down on the cool rocks around the pool. "If this is what David and Joe said a hangover feels like I never want to have one."

"Zac, we have to tell Rita about this, she needs to know what happened, if the full moon is affecting you like this, we have to find out why," Lyla said as she looked over at Nixie. "And Sirena needs some help; it's a long way home, and I think it will take all of us to keep sharks away. Do you think you can make it?" She glided over to Sirena to take a look at the cut in the other mermaid's forehead.

"God, my head hurts, but I can do this, I can't stay here forever," Zac answered, he looked over at Sirena who still watched him, fear in her eyes. "I'm really sorry if I hurt any of you, I don't remember doing any of it."

"I think we should go," Sirena said her tone soft as she rinsed blood off her hand as Lyla examined the cut. "I don't think sharks have ever come into the Moonpool, but there's a lot of blood in the water now."

"I agree we better get out of here," Lyla stated as she looked over her shoulder at Nixie and Zac. "Sirena's cut is still bleeding, and it's not going to take long for it to attract attention. Nixie will you be able to keep up?"

"I should be okay, for a while." Nixie answered as she touched her bruised face again. "But this is going to hurt in the morning, and I'd rather we left while I can still see out of both eyes. Zac?"

"Let's do it," Zac answered and took a few deep breaths as the three mermaids waited.

"Ready?" Nixie asked, and when Zac nodded she dived, Sirena and Lyla behind her.

Zac took a few more deep breaths, and then slipped under the water and followed the three mermaids out the open sea.

* * *

The horizon was just beginning to turn pink when they reached the inlet to the canals that housed Zac parents' house and his small apartment. It had been hours of agony, all of them having to stop several times, Zac out of pure exhaustion and pain, and Sirena to have the bleeding wound on her head examined. Only once was Lyla forced to chase away a shark, a large curious Mako that followed them for several miles, they all considered that a sign of good luck.

"Are you going to be able to make if from here?" Lyla asked, her expression worried, her face exhausted as she placed a hand on Zacs arm. "You can come to Rita's with us."

"It's only a few miles," Zac answered as he met Lylas eyes. "Dad and mom are in Melbourne at a medical conference, and I'm supposed to be looking after the house. I hadn't expected to be out all night. But if you're too tired, I've got the couch; actually it's kind of a futon-"

"Zac," Lyla interrupted with a smile. "We'll be fine. We've got to get Sirena home so Rita can heal her, but I can come back as soon as that's done."

"Okay, but after I get some sleep I'll stop by to see if we can get all this sorted out." Zac replied, his expression slightly crestfallen as he added with a sigh, "Thanks, all of you and I'm, I'm really sorry that I hurt everyone."

"Oh, people throw rocks and hit us all the time," Nixie said in mock brightness even though the left side her face had turned a purple color and her eye had been swollen shut on the swim back. "Don't worry about it." Her expression darkened though as she added, "If anything else happens or you remember anything, tells us right away, last night scared all of us and we need to find out what happened."

"Okay," Zac nodded his eyes sought out Lyla's once more. "I'll stop by after I get some sleep; I think we could all use some of that." With a wave of goodbye, Zac dove and covered the last few miles underwater. When he reached the canal behind his parents' house Zac slogged his way in a haze of up the sandy beach into the garage that served as his apartment. Without bothering to see what time it was or set the alarm on his phone he threw himself onto the bed.

It was only when the darkness of exhaustion swooped in to take him that Zac realized he was naked and had waded out of the canal on his legs.


	2. Chapter 2

Mako Mermaids the HBO Version, Chapter Two

"Rita!" Lyla cried out as she, Nixie and Sirena surfaced in the grotto pool that was hidden beneath the condo owned by Rita Santos. Lyla pulled herself awkwardly onto the paving stones that surrounded the circular pool and grabbed a large towel to dry her tail into legs and one of the bathrobes that Rita always set out.

"See if you can find Rita," Nixie said and looked over a Sirena who had turned a waxy pale on the swim back from Mako, and the area around cut in her head had begun to swell and turn purple. "Sirena doesn't look well and she needs to stay awake until we can get that cut and bruise looked at."

"I'm fine," Sirena muttered, her dilated blue eyes glared angrily at Nixie. "I feel fine!" She tried to pull herself out of the water, only to slip back in and shrugged off Nixies attempts to help.

Come on, come on," Lyla whispered and rubbed the towel harder on her tail. "Come on, dry." She was rewarded with the pop, and the mild pain which came from the transformation, standing Lyla quickly pulled the robe on and held hands out for Sirena. "Come on Sirena, I'll help."

"I'll stay with her, you find Rita," Nixie said as she and Lyla both pulled Sirena out of the water. Nixie hauled herself from the pool and used her Power to call a towel to her as she pulled herself to Sirena, "Let me get you dry," She said to the blonde mermaid as she began to pat down Sirena's scales. "And then we'll get you upstairs."

"Rita." Lyla cried out as she climbed the stairs from grotto pool to Rita's "treasure room", it was empty, but at this time of the morning Rita was usually upstairs drinking coffee.

"Rita?" Lyla said again, as made her way up to the small library with the hidden book shelf that led to the secret rooms below the condo. "Are you here? Something's happened we need your help-" Lyla froze, her breath caught in her throat as she saw the body of elder mermaid sprawled on floor of the living room. "Nixie!" Lyla shrieked and ran down the hallway.

"Stay put! And don't fall asleep!" Nixie ordered Sirena as she heard Lyla's scream from upstairs. She had managed to get both herself and Sirena back into legs, clad in terrycloth robes and upstairs to the treasure room. She seated the now dazed looking Sirena on one of the sofas, and cried, "Coming!"

"What happened?" Nixie asked as she entered the living room and saw Rita lying motionless on the floor, Lyla beside her.

"I don't know," Lyla said, her bloodshot tired eyes glistened. "I found her like this! What's going on Nixie! First Zac now Rita! I don't understand!"

"Move back," Nixie ordered and knelt next to Rita and felt the older woman's neck. "She's still alive, I can feel a pulse."

"What?" Lyla asked and wiped tears away. "How do you know that?"

"When the Trident almost killed you Rita showed me how she knew you weren't dead by feeling your neck," Nixie explained, exasperated. "Now Lyla, I need you to stay calm, I need you to go downstairs, where Rita keeps her potion making things, there's a yellow bottle with sand in it, please get that for me."

"Okay," Lyla swallowed and stood. "Just don't let her die Nixie, please."

Nixie focused her gaze on Rita's face. "Rita is not going to die; now please Lyla go get the bottle, it's important." Nixie sat back and held one of Rita's hands while Lyla raced off. "Please don't take too long," She whispered and waited.

It seemed like an eternity before Lyla reappeared and thrust a small amber colored sand filled bottle at Nixie. "Is this the right one? Is she dead?"

"No, she's not dead," Nixie said as she took the bottle. "How is Sirena?"

"She fell asleep on the couch," Lyla answered and then stepped back as Nixie surged to her feet.

"Lyla! Listen to me!" Nixie shouted. "Go and wake Sirena up! DO NOT let her fall asleep! Keep her awake until I get there! Understand!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Lyla asked, alarmed at Nixies sudden shout.

"Lyla, just trust me on this, please," Nixie answered with a sigh, and closed her one good eye momentarily. "Just go down and keep Sirena awake. Better yet," She pointed over to Rita's coffee maker. "Wake Sirena up and give her a cup of that."

"Coffee? That stuff is horrible," Lyla said, but the scowl on Nixies face convinced her to pour a cup anyway. "It's cold."

"It's from yesterday," Nixie said turning back to Rita and unstopped the bottle as Lyla raced past her to the library and the stairs. "Trust me Lyla that will definitely keep Sirena awake." Nixie propped Rita's head up with one hand and held the bottle under her nose with the other. "Come on Rita, time to wake up, don't let me down."

It took several passes with the bottle before Rita gasped for breath and began to cough, Nixies scooted back to give the older woman room. "What, what?" Rita gasped her eyes unfocused as she looked over the younger mermaid. "Nixie? What happened?"

"You know, people have been asking that a lot lately," Nixie replied as she helped Rita to her feet. "And do we have a story to tell you. But for now, Sirena is hurt, bad; I think she might have a concushine."

"A what?" Rita asked confused.

"A concushine," Nixie explained. "She was hit in the head with a big rock and I think she has a concushine."

"A 'concussion'" Rita corrected as she leaned on Nixie and let the younger mermaid lead the way through the apartment. "And how did that happened? And what happened to you?"

"That's part of the story we have to tell you," Nixie answered. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yes, I'll be alright, I just need a few minutes to rest and collect my thoughts," Rita replied. "And I'm going to need your help with all this; you can fill me in after that."

* * *

"I want to have a baby," Sirena said in a dreamy voice, as her eyes tried to focus on the three mermaids across the room from her. "I want to have David's babies, and Lyla can have Zacs babies and Nixie and Rita can watch all our babies like a momma Clownfish." Sirena giggled as her hands reached for things nobody could see.

"Mermaids don't have babies Sirena," Lyla said in exasperation, she was seated on a stool across the room next to Nixie, a small table filled with items Rita has requested next to her. "We're born from sea foam and moonlight, everyone knows that."

Sirena giggled, "But we have Zac and David now, and just like dolphins they can stick their-"

"Stop talking like that!" Lyla interrupted her voice tired and exhausted. "That's disgusting, and I don't want to hear it!" She ignored Sirena's continued giggles.

"How long is she going to go on like that?" Nixie asked irritated, she was seated on a bench as Rita looked at the huge swollen bruise on the side of her face and watched as the blonde mermaid laughed and reached for invisible things. Nixie winced as the older mermaid touched the side of her face tenderly.

"I don't know," Rita answered as she peered at Nixie injury. "I had expected the clove oil to sedate her, but I think it might be some kind of reaction with the caffeine in the coffee Lyla gave her, I've never really combined the two before." She stopped to look into Nixies good eye and smiled. "Very smart move by the way young lady for thinking of the coffee."

"How did you know how to do that?" Lyla asked from where she sat on a stool and watched, she swayed slightly from exhaustion, her eyes bloodshot, the dark circles clearly visible.

"I have been tutoring Nixie in the healing arts while you and Sirena have been out keeping an eye on Zac," Rita answered tracing the outline of the swelling on Nixies face with the finger of one hand, the other picking up a stingray spine from the tray. "Nixie has turned out to be a rather good student."

"What are you going to do with that?" Nixie exclaimed as she watched Rita examine the three inch long piece of spine.

"I am going to lance the swelling on your face and drain the blood out," Was the answer as Rita leaned in and examined Nixies face again. "Doctors on land would not advise doing this, but we do what we have to, since a trip to a hospital is clearly out of the question." Setting the spine back on the tray Rita draped several towels around Nixies shoulders. "Now Nixie, I want you to-" Rita paused and looked over to where Sirena laid silent, her eyes shut in sleep. "Lyla why don't you sit with Sirena and try to get some rest, you look like you could use some."

"I thought you didn't want Sirena to go to sleep?" Lyla asked alarmed.

"No, its fine now, she's sedated and the bump on her head isn't as bad as it looked," The older mermaid answered. "Once I have Nixie patched up, we'll use the Moonrings on Sirena to make sure everything is in order, after that I'll let all of you get some rest. For now though you get some sleep."

"But we haven't told you everything that happened last night," Lyla responded. "And you haven't told us what happened to you."

"Yeah," Nixie agreed. "We haven't told you everything about last night."

Rita looked at the two bruised and exhausted mermaids for several moments. "No but you have told me enough, Zac demonstrated more Power than is possible, and that's something we need to keep an eye on." She turned her attention to Lyla. "Now go get some rest, everything will be fine."

"So," Nixie said softly once Lyla was out of earshot. "Are you going to tell me what happened to you? Because if I've learned one thing over the past couple months, nothing is a coincidence, especially when it involves Zac and Mako, and finding you passed out on the floor today is NOT a coincidence."

"Hold still," Rita said, and inserted the stingray needle into a swollen area on the Nixies face; the younger mermaid winced, but held still. "I'm not sure what's going on Nixie, I don't remember what happened, or why, nothing like this has ever happened before," Rita said whispered as she daubed blood that welled out of the puncture. "All I remember was the moon rose, and that's the last memory I have. But it's times like this when I remember Harry telling me; 'Rita, even you can get out of your depth, and it doesn't hurt to have friends' and I think this is one of those times."

"But we don't know any mermaids, the pod swam off and we don't know where they are," Nixie said and then winced as Rita applied some pressure to the bruise on her face and forced more blood out.

"I'm not talking about mermaids," Rita answered, setting the bloody towel in her hands down and reaching for a clean one. "Harry introduced me quite a few friends, and we also made some powerful enemies in our time together, but I know just the person in England that can help us."

"Land people? You're going to tell land people!" Nixie whispered harshly. "How can you tell land people?"

"Because I trust them, with my life," Rita answered. "And so will you."


	3. Chapter 3

Mako Mermaids the HBO Version, Chapter Three

"What!" Zac shouted as the pain in his head throbbed in time with the sound of his door being pounded on; with a sigh he rolled over and grabbed the phone on the bedside. "Oh shit." He had four missed calls from Evie and it was quarter past noon, the six hours of sleep hadn't caused his headache to go away, but at least it was down to Tylenol level. With a grunt of pain he slid of bed and walked over to fling the apartment door open and was rewarded with both the sight Evie, and the bright noon sun that spilled in.

"What?" Zac asked again and winced in the bright light.

"Oh good you're- whoa, whoa, whoa!" Evie exclaimed as she turned her head and put her hands up to block her view. "Wow!"

"What?" Zac repeated and glanced down. "Oh crap!" He shouted as he spun in a panic to grab a towel from the pile on the coffee table and wrapped it around his waist in an attempt to preserve his dignity. "Ah, um sorry about that, I…I didn't know..um, sorry." Zac said lamely as he backed into the bedroom area behind the half wall that separated it from the rest of the small apartment and looked around for some shorts.

"Well," Evie said as she stepped through the door and took a sudden interest in a picture on Zacs wall. "I've kind of wanted to see it, but thought the moment would have more romance. Have you been working out?"

"Um, no sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me," Zac apologized, pulling on a pair of shorts from a pile on the floor. "I had a really bad night, my head hurts and my body feels like it was hit by a train."

"Zac that's what I came to talk you about," Evie said her voice now completely serious as she watched him walk across the room and root around in a cupboard. "Where were you last night?"

"I was at Mako with the girls," Zacs answered as popped the top of a Tylenol bottle and shook a few into his hand. Seeing Evie's look he quickly added, "I'm sorry Evie, I know you said we needed time to get all the mermaid stuff sorted, and I know I've been ignoring you the past month, and I'm really sorry."

"You were on Mako? All night, and you never went anywhere else?" Evie questioned her eyes narrowed as she looked at Zac as he grabbed a bottle of water from his mini-fridge. "There was an earthquake on Mako last night according to the news."

"Oh, um, was there?" Zac answered cautiously. He swallowed a couple of the red capsules and washed them down with water before asking slowly, "Were we supposed to do something last night? Oh shit! Monday is New Year's Eve, I am so sorry Evie, I forgot, I'll make it up to you."

"No Zac, this has nothing to do with New Year's." Evie answered her voice serious. "Maybe you better sit down."

Zac stepped over and sat down slowly on his futon, "Okay, what's this all about then."

Evie took a deep breath. "Early this morning some joggers found David on the beach at Surfers, he wasn't wearing any clothes and it looks like he'd tried to drown himself."

"What!" Zac shot to his feet his eyes wide in disbelief. "Is he alright?"

"The couple that found him did CPR, and the ambulance took him to the hospital in Robina," Evie answered. "Zac, he's unconscious and on a respirator in intensive care." She took a step forward, hands clenched to fists. "Look at me Zac. Promise me you didn't have anything to do with this, and neither did Sirena or the others. Promise me."

Zac sat down again taken aback by Evies sudden intensity. "I, I, don't understand any of this." He looked up at her. "Evie, I swear all of us were on Mako. Why would David do something like that, he doesn't even live near the beach. How am I going to explain this to Sirena?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me," Evie said sitting down on the arm of the sofa opposite Zac. "But you're going to have to come up with a cover story-"

"I told you I was at Mako." Zac interrupted as he leaned back to stare at the ceiling. "I don't know what else to tell you."

"Not for me, you need one for the police."

"Police?" Zac sat up to looked at Evie startled. "Why would the police care?"

"Yes, the police!" Evie explained as she stood and paced the room. "They're treating this as, a potential suicide, robbery, or maybe attempted murder." She stopped pacing and threw her hands in the air. "Zac, David's parents own three restaurants and a coffee shop, his dad tried for a Robina Councilors seat last election! Of course the police are going to be involved; Carly said David's father is insisting this be investigated! So we need to come up with a decent cover story."

"Oh my God," Zac, put his head in his hands. "I'll just say that I was here."

"What about Sirena?" Evie questioned as she sat on the arm of the sofa. "Zac, she's been seeing David for over a month, the police are going to WANT to question her."

"She can just tell them she was at Rita's," Zac answered. "That should be fine."

"Oh Please!" Evie exclaimed as she stood up and paced the room again. "Sirena doesn't even legally exist, neither does Nixie or Lyla. This whole thing is going to blow up once the police start looking into things. All of you are lucky you haven't been caught already!"

"I'll just tell them they have to leave; they can hide out on Mako until this blows over." Zac replied, eyeing Evie cautiously as she stalked back and forth.

"Which then makes you suspect number one." Evie tossed her hands in the air and said sarcastically, "Gee Mr. Blakely, can you explain to us why you've been hanging out with three young women who don't exist, and vanished, the same day your friend David Wilson was found drowned on a beach?" She sat down on the couch and puffed her lips in thought.

"What has gotten into you, why are you acting this way, and where do you come up with this stuff," Zac asked as he walked over to grab the bottle of Tylenol again.

"I watch a lot of, 'NCIS', 'Rake', and 'Miss Fisher's," Evie answered as she watched Zac dump more Tylenol into his hand and swallow them. "I've also spent a lot of time talking to my dad, and I'm not as stupid and helpless as everyone thinks. I'm tired of people lying to me. So Zac, what IS going on, and don't lie me this time."

Zac stared across the room at Evie for several moments as he leaned against the table that served as his kitchen counter. "Look, I can't tell you, because I don't know. There've been a lot of things going on with me since last month that you wouldn't understand, and I can't explain anything to you; you're not one of us and never will be, you wouldn't-"

"'Not one of us…never will be'?'" Evie interrupted holding a hand up and quoting Zac. "Zac what does that mean?"

Zac stood, mouth opening and closing several times, before answered. "God that came out so wrong Evie, I am so sorry, I don't what's gotten into me, I don't know anything anymore." Zac slid to the floor, his head held in his hands as he leaned against the small fridge as words tumbled out. "Look, Lyla said I blacked out last night and a bunch of stuff happened on Mako that I don't remember, I don't even remember getting home. My head hurts, my body hurts, and I keep doing things and hurting everyone, and I can't seem to stop. I just want to dive into the ocean and hide from all this, it's the only place I feel in control. And now, I'm not even sure about that anymore."

The two sat in silence for many minutes, until Evie finally said softly. "I don't understand either Zac, and I'm not going to lie; you aren't helping me to understand. I've tried, I really have, and I know I told you I needed time to sort all this, and I have Zac and this isn't going to work. Not if you won't talk to me." Evie shook her frustration.

Zac looked up; his eyes glistened as he looked at Evie. "What are you saying?"

Evie closed her eyes, sighed and opened them again. "Us Zac. We're not going to work, we both know it. We've been drifting apart for months, ever since this happened to you. I mean look at us now." Evie paused and ran a hand through her hair. "This is the first time in almost a month we've been in the same room together to talk, and what are we doing? We're sitting here conspiring to lie to the police, because you grew a tail and spent the night with three mermaids, who by the way I don't really like or totally trust. Zac I don't know if I can even deal with this kind of stuff anymore, or if I even want to."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Zac questioned.

"Are we actually even dating," Evie countered. "I know I told you I'd accept you for who you are not what you are, and I still hold to that. I owe you my life Zac; literally, I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. But we never spend time together. Ever since last month when you and Cam had whatever fight you had, you've pretty much avoided all of us. You never talk to me, David or Carly and you never stop by the Café. So I don't think there really is an 'us' anymore, there hasn't been for over a month." Evie sighed and sank deeper into the sofa. "Zac, I went to Auckland for a week with my dad to an anti-whaling rally and you don't even know I was gone."

"What? When did you go to New Zealand? Where was I?"

"Most likely out with Lyla on a reef somewhere," Evie answered with a sigh. "You didn't even return my calls at Christmas."

"God, I am such an idiot," Zac said as he gazed at the floor. "No matter what I do or say it all goes to hell, everything has been a mess, and everything keeps getting worse." He sat in silence for several moments before asking, "So what do we do now? I mean about us? I wish I could tell you you're wrong and things will be sorted, but they won't, nothing is ever going to be like it was, I keep messing everything up."

Evie looked over at Zac silently and then took a deep breath. "I don't think we have to do anything to be honest. If you think about it's not like we're really breaking up since you haven't taken me to a dinner and a movie in about, oh, four months." She then added, "David and Sirena have been out more times than we have."

"Ouch. That make me feel so much better," Zac grimaced and then said, "So what do we do about the police?"

"I think we better go over to Ms. Santos and warn them before the police actually do show up," Evie said as she rose to her feet. "We need to start doing damage control before this whole thing gets out of hand. Maybe Rita can think of something, since she's obviously good at hiding things."

"You don't trust her do you," Zac asked cautiously.

"Our school principal is a mermaid, living with three mermaids and they all lied to me," Evie answered and walked over to the apartment door. "So no, I don't completely trust her, but I think right now, she's our best hope of getting this whole situation sorted, and the sooner the better. So if you feel up to it, we should pay Rita a visit."

"Uhm, well," Zac said as he stood, rubbing his palms together nervously. "Maybe I should go over there by myself and tell her, uh, that way you won't have to be involved in this."

"No," Came Evies response of finality. "One of my best friends is in love with a mermaid, and he tried to drown himself. I'm already involved in all of 'this', whatever 'this' is Zac; you won't get rid of me that easy."

"Okay, well, I'll meet you over there then; it's about a half hour swim and she lives right on the beach, so I'll meet you over there." Zac said as he began to pull his shorts off.

"Whoa, wait, Zac its 30 minutes if you swim to Rita's, and ten minutes on my bike." Evie exclaimed and turned to open the door and hold it open to avoid looking over at Zac, who was standing with his shorts down to his thighs. "You're starting to creep me out with that," She said and then under breath added, "Wow, no wonder Lyla spends so much time with you."

"Huh?" Zac stared at her and hurriedly pulled his shorts back up. "Bike? What bike? We can't both fit on a bike."

"Yes, while you were swimming about, I was with my dad carrying signs in front of the Japanese embassy to protest whale hunts," Evie explained as she waited for Zac to follow her out the door. "So as a reward he bought me a bike, okay it's a used Vespa, but it'll hold Carly and I, so grab a shirt and let's go."

"He bought you a motor bike for staging a protest? You're dad scares me sometimes." Zac stated as he rummaged on the floor for a t-shirt, pulled it on and stepped out the door into his parent's back yard.

"Dad was a member of the CDT in the Navy, he scares everyone." Evie responded sweetly as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. "My bike is out front."


	4. Chapter 4

Mako Mermaids, The HBO Version Chapter Four

The silence in the room was broken only by Sirena's sobs as Evie finished explaining the events of the morning. "So," She ended. "I'm guessing the police haven't stopped by yet."

"No, no, they haven't," Rita said rising to her feet and look out the glass of the sliding door toward the ocean beyond. "But like you said, it's a matter of time, and we need to come up with a plan."

Behind her the three younger mermaids sat huddled together, Nixie, the right side of her face covered by a large purple bruise, held Sirena's hand and asked, "What do we do now Rita? We can't stay here anymore, too much has happened." She looked over at Lyla. "We'll have to go north; I think that's the direction the pod went."

"NO!" Sirena exclaimed the paleness of her complexion made the bruise and cut on her forehead stand out as she pulled her hand away from Nixies grasp and stood. "I'm not leaving David!"

"Sirena be reasonable," Nixie responded. "All of us are in danger now, we can't stay here."

"I don't care!" Sirena replied flatly. "I want to go and see David, and I'm not leaving him, not like this! You almost convinced to leave him once and I won't do it again!" She turned, wiping tears from her eyes and stormed down the hall toward the library.

"Sirena wait!" Nixie said rising to her feet to follow as the younger mermaid fled down the hallway.

"I'll go," Zac said and looked at Evie. "Stay here." He ordered and followed Sirena out of the room.

"I'll go to, she needs to calm down," Lyla added and backed out of the room before turning to follow Zac.

"Go where?" Evie asked curiously from where she sat on the couch and leaned forward to look down the hallway.

"Her bedroom," Nixie said sweetly. "She's probably going to go cry in her bedroom."

"Sirena has a bedroom, in the library?" Evie challenged. "Interesting, I didn't see a bed when I was in there."

"I'm going to go check on them," Rita said suddenly. "Nixie, why don't you make lemonade and take Evie to the patio until this is sorted."

* * *

"Sirena wait, please!" Zac cried out as he jumped the last few steps into the grotto, he could see Sirena in the water struggling to get out of her sundress which had entangled her like a net.

"Zac we have to help her or she'll drown herself," Lyla said a hint of panic in her voice as she emerged from the stairwell into the humid salty air of the chamber.

Zac stepped onto the underwater stone ledge that surrounded the pool and sank up to his knees in the warm water as he extended a hand. "Sirena take my hand, please," He begged.

"I want to go see David," The mermaid responded as she struggled to get out of the cloth that billowed around her. "I don't want him to die! I need to see him!"

"Sirena please," Lyla said moving as close to the pool as possible to avoid getting wet by the other mermaids splashing and grabbed some towels. "Swimming away like this isn't going to help, besides you don't even know where is. Zac does. So please, come back."

"He won't die," Zac explained, sinking to a crouch, he leaned out over the water, one hand extended toward Sirena, the other gripping the paving stones around the pool to keep from falling in. "Now please take my hand, everything will be okay."

Crying Sirena gave up her struggles and reached for Zacs hand and let him pull her to him in hug. "I don't want him to die Zac," She sobbed, "Aquata left, the pod left and I don't want David to die and leave me."

"He won't," Zac said as he slipped to sit down on the ledge to hug Sirena gently. "My dad's a doctor, remember, I'll make sure David is okay." He held her at arm's length finally to look at her, "We'll go see David at the hospital tomorrow, I promise. Are you going to be alright?"

Sirena asked, wiping her eyes and said. "I'm so sorry Zac; I hate to get like this. But I'm scared, last night I thought we were all going to die, and now Evie said David has a land person machine making him breathe, and I don't know what to do." She slipped out of the dress and helplessly tried to wring water out of it. "This is my fault, if I had been with him this wouldn't have happened; David doesn't know how to swim, I would have saved him."

"No it's not, it's not your fault, it's nobody's fault and if it is, we're going to find them," Zac answered. "So let's get you dry and back upstairs, okay?"

"Okay," She sighed. "But I want to know why this happening to us, and I want to go see him."

"I don't know why this is happening, but we'll go see David tomorrow, I promise," Zac replied. "Lyla help me get her out of the water," He said as he rose to his feet and helped Sirena pull herself onto stones around the pool. "Lyla are you are alright?" He asked as he noticed the tall blonde mermaid staring at him speechless.

"Zac your legs," Sirena said with a mixture of fear and amazement. "Why do you still have legs?"

"What?" Zac answered puzzled and look down, he was still standing knee deep in water, his clothing drenched. "What's happening to me," He whispered, his face a mask of panic as he looked back up at the two mermaids. "Why do I still have legs? Why don't I have a ta-" He began to ask and then gasped in pain as he lost his balance and fell backward into the water.

"Zac?" Lyla exclaimed the towels falling forgotten to the floor. "Zac!" Lyla shouted again in panic her hands grabbing for the buttons on her blouse as she watched him flail about in the water.

"What's going on?" Rita said breathlessly emerging from the stairs leading to the upstairs treasure room. "Zac?" She questioned as she watched his head pop out of the waves.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Zac coughed and spit up water as he pulled himself onto the grotto ledge, the length of his powerful blue tail stretched behind him. "Just a little scare, I'm alright." He said as he pulled his soaking t-shirt off and tossed it aside. "Wow."

"Are you sure," Lyla asked cautiously and knelt down to look at him, she avoided the puddles on the floor and moved as close as she dared to the side of the pool.

"What happened?" Rita asked grabbing some towels and assisting Sirena who was attempted to dry herself off. "Sirena, you're going to have to move, there's too much water on the floor." She said to the younger mermaid. "We'll never get you dry at this rate."

"Zac was standing in the water," Lyla answered, and seeing Rita's puzzled expression continued. "He was standing in the water, he stood there long enough to help get Sirena out, and then fell in and finally grew a tail." She turned her attention back to Zac, "So what happened?"

"Lyla's right, I saw it all happen," Sirena added pulled herself from the puddles on the floor, as Rita rubbed her tail down. "He stood, and then he sat in the water with me on the ledge, and he didn't grow a tail." She gasped in pain as her own orange tail split and her legs formed, she stood shakily as Lyla handed her a bathrobe.

"That's not possible," Rita said as she shook her head and looked at Zac. "How long were in the water like that?"

"I don't know," Zac replied clearing his throat and looking up at her. "But it's true, I helped Sirena get out of the water, I was standing on the ledge and didn't even realize it, and then Lyla said I had legs. I looked down and I didn't have a tail and then I just thought about-" Zac froze, his eyes grew wide with excitement. "Oh my God!"

"Zac, what is it?" Rita asked sharply

Zac didn't answer, he rolled over and turned his attention to the length of his tail, hands balled into fists he closed his eyes in concentration. Teeth clenched, Zac gave a soft cry of pain as his tail split and his legs reformed. "Oh shit," He groaned. "That hurt worse than it usually does." He kicked his legs in the water as a grin formed on his face.

"This is impossible!" Rita gasped and staggered back. "You can't do that, nobody can do that."

"Zac, how did you do that," Lyla whispered clutching Sirena by the arm and dragging her back a step. She repeated the older mermaid's words, "Rita, how did he do that? Nobody can do that!"

"I, I don't know," Rita stammered, and then questioned. "Zac?"

"Why are you acting afraid of me?" Zac asked seeing the look of shock and fear on the faces of Lyla and Rita; Sirena stared at him a mixture of awe and wonder on her face. "I don't know how I'm doing this, all I did was concentrate," He turned his attention his legs, took a deep breath and clenched his jaw in concentration. Smoothly and easily his legs melded together and lengthened, his feet elongated to form blue flukes and within moments the transformation was done. Zac flipped the end of his tail experimentally and said, "Isn't that amazing?" He grinned up at Lyla and Rita as he pushed himself out in the pool and dove. He emerged moments later with his drenched clothes in one hand and tossed them onto the grotto paving with a wet plop, his shoes followed shortly.

"Lyla can you take Sirena upstairs and give us a moment," Rita said, only briefly taking her eyes off Zac. "Why don't you go check on Nixie, and Evie."

"Okay," Lyla answered her voice quavered as she backed up, pulling Sirena with her.

"I don't want to go upstairs," Sirena protested and shook Lyla off. "Zac how are you doing that? Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Lyla take Sirena upstairs _now_," Rita snapped her tone sharp.

The two mermaids looked at each other and headed up the stairs, Sirena giving a last smile at Zac and mouthed "Tomorrow," as she vanished up the stairs.

"What's going on," Zac asked. "Why are you acting like I've done something wrong? This is incredible!"

Rita hesitated, and then said. "Zac there is so much going on now that we need to be careful, and we need to talk. What you just did goes against everything mermaids can do, and you shouldn't be able to do it."

Zac cocked his head to one side and with a thrust of his tail surged to the side of the pool, his eyes flashed angrily as he rose on his legs and stepped out. He stood, naked, water beaded on his dolphin smooth skin for several moments, eyes narrowed as he looked at Rita. "I'm not a mermaid Rita, which should be obvious." He took a step forward. "How do you know I shouldn't be able to do this?"

Rita took a step backward and swallowed nervously. "I, I don't know, and I'm not trying to make you angry Zac, I'm sorry," She admitted. "There are old legends, and what you just did is something that was only done in ancient stories." With an unsteady step backward, Rita sank down on the stairs. "Zac, the girls said you changed last night, and caused an earthquake. I didn't believe it at first, but the news reported it this this morning. And now you've shown a power that I've never seen before, and you don't know how dangerous it is."

Walking over to the stand that held the bathrobes, Zac pulled one on and snapped, "How is what I just did dangerous? What is so dangerous about it? Why don't you explain it to me, because I'm getting tired of this Rita! Every time I gain power or do anything with it, all you do is try and take it away from me, or tell me I'm not supposed to be able to do it, or I'm dangerous and will destroy the world." He stabbed a hand at her and continued, "How do you know I'm not supposed to be able to do these things? So far I haven't destroyed the world, or even come close! All I've managed to do is lose my best friend, lose my girlfriend, and another friend tries to drown himself and ends up in the hospital!" He sank down to crouch to look at Rita, his eyes intense. "So tell me what you know, because my life is going to hell and yours hasn't changed at all! So stop acting like I'm the bad guy and everything I can do is 'dangerous' to you!"

"I want to Zac explain, I really do," Rita responded with a nervous swallow. "But I can't, I need to examine things a little more. I've placed a call to a friend in England; actually he was Harry's teacher for a while. He's agreed to help us out."

"Someone from England is coming here? Rita, what do you know," Zac demanded again. "If you know something tell me, all of this is starting to piss me off, if you know something, anything, tell me." He took a breath to calm down and continued. "My friends might be dying because of me, and I need to know why."

Rita opened her mouth as if to say something then closed it, she reached out and took one Zacs hands in both of hers. "Zac you will just have to trust me, as hard as that is because I'm probably the last person you feel like trusting right now. But please this time, trust me, we'll get this sorted, but all in time. I promise."

Standing Zac said, "Okay fine, but I don't understand any of this, and nobody wants to tell me, apparently all I am is a walking danger to everyone. Lyla and Nixie conjure storm clouds, Sirena creates a blizzard with a Moonring and that's okay, but I discover I can stop my tail from growing when I get wet and that makes me 'dangerous'? I'm starting to think you've been lying to me and hiding the truth from the moment all this started, and you don't even know why you're afraid of me."

Rita looked at the floor and shook her head. "I'm not lying Zac," She murmured and then gazed up at him. "The past twenty four hours have shaken all of us up, and believe me, I want to get this all sorted as much as you do."

"Whatever. I need some time alone," Zac answered walking over to the edge of the pool and tossing the robe off. "Tell Lyla I'll talk to her later." Not waiting for an answer he dove, vanishing in a splash of water and blue fins.

Rita sat silently watching the waves in the grotto pool for several minutes before leaning forward, head in her hands. "Oh Zac, I think I've made a horrible mistake," She said quietly and stood. "And if I have, I hope you can forgive me for it." With one last glance at the pool she turned and headed back up the stairs.

* * *

Rita had just reached the landing leading to the treasure room when she heard something that froze her cold and made her forget the events in the grotto room.

"Would you come with me, we'll swim the deep blue sea," The clear flawless soprano of Sirena sang out, her voice drifting down from upstairs.

"No, no, no!" Rita exclaimed and ran the rest of the way up the stairs. "Girls NO!" She shouted as she burst into the living room and stopped.

Two men, one in the blue on blue of uniform of the Queensland police, and the other in plain clothes stood jaws agape, heads tilted to one side as they gazed at Sirena with blank and mindless adoration. The three mermaids stood off to one side with eyes downcast sheepishly, and Evie stood in corner staring in disbelief.

"What did you do?" Rita demanded walking over to the two men to wave a hand in front of their eyes, she received no response in their blank expressions and turned to face Sirena. "Sirena?"

"What did you do," Evie echoed taking a step forward.

"It was Lylas idea!" Sirena confessed pulling the white bathrobe tighter. "She made me sing."

"I didn't know what else to do!" Lyla exclaimed tossing her hands in the air. "I panicked, they knocked and Nixie opened the door and let them in and I panicked." She craned her neck to look down the hallway past Rita. "Where's Zac?"

Nixie laughed and took a step over to wave a hand in front of the face of the officer in blue, "At least we know the song works on grown men and just not land boys." With a grin she looked at Lyla. "I also think this means we won't have to leave after all, good thinking Lyla."

"I don't know if it's necessarily a good thing," Rita commented shaking her head. "But we might be able to use this to our advantage."

"See," Lyla grinned. "Good job."

"Would someone please tell me what just happened!" Evie asked. "And where is Zac? And why is Sirena in a bath robe?"

"Sirena sang the Enchantment Song," Nixie answered before anyone else could speak. "Mermaids used to use it to lure sailors onto rocks so they'd drown just for fun. Happy?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Evie said. "So this is what, some kind of mermaid mind control, like what Ursula did to Eric?" Seeing the blank looks on the three mermaid's faces she added. "Uhm, you know 'The Little Mermaid', the movie? I'll take that as a no." Evie said as the blank looks continued, to Rita who was looking back at her skeptically Evie explained, "It was research."

Rita sighed and answered, "Yes Evie, that's exactly what it is, but it's been outlawed in these waters for centuries." She folded her arms and looked at the two enchanted men. "You're going to have to tell them something Sirena."

"What? What should I say?" Sirena answered as the two men stared at her blankly. "I don't know what to tell them."

"These are not the mermaids you're looking for," Evie snorted and sat down heavily on a sofa, and received more puzzled stares from Lyla and Nixie. "This is not happening. And why wasn't I affected then, I'm not a mermaid."

"Because you're a land girl," Lyla answered in exasperation. "Sirena's song only works on land boys or men. If Zac sang you'd be affected."

"Well that makes us all safe then," Evie muttered and received a harsh glare from Lyla. "And where is he by the way?"

"Girls please," Eyes narrowed Rita looked at Evie for a few moments. "Evie may be onto something." Turning Sirena she said, "Sirena, tell them that all of us, including Zac checked out, and they're free to leave."

"What?" Sirena asked carefully.

"Just tell them that," Rita said.

"No, you can't just tell them that," Evie broke in, everyone turned to look at her as she rose from the couch. "Tell them to ask all the questions, we'll answer them and then they can put it all in the report. This way everything is covered. Does anyone have paper and a pen?"

* * *

"You know," Rita said several hours later as she and Evie stood outside and watched the police car depart. "I may have underestimated you, again, and I want to thank you for stepping in. I don't think I could have pulled that off, and I certainly know the girls never would have been able to."

"Well having police under mind control doesn't exactly hurt you know," Evie replied as she folded her arms and spun to face Rita. "Glad I could be some help, BUT, I do have one question."

"Only one?" Rita said surprised.

"For now; trust me, I have dozens more I want answered." Evie responded, and then asked, "Where did Zac go? And don't tell me he slipped out the backdoor while I wasn't watching."

Rita stood looking off into the distance silently for several moments, eyes on the distant Gold Coast skyscrapers before she answered. "Well actually he did, we had a small disagreement and he left." She turned her gaze back to Evie. "Let me show you our backdoor, I think you've earned it."

* * *

"Hello?" Zac said softly as he walked up the beach into his parent's darkened back yard. He paused momentarily to look around, the water of canal black behind him as his eye narrowed to scan the surrounding dark. He had spent the majority of the day enjoying the silence among coral that surrounded Mako Island, but that had all changed when a Geoscience helicopter landed and half dozen or so scientists began walking around planting seismic devices. Zac had decided to swim back home then in order to beat the encroaching darkness and the feeling that something wasn't right.

"What the hell," He said as he saw door to the remodeled garage that served as his apartment was open, extending a hand Zac used his Power to pull one of his mother's garden shovels across the yard and held it like a weapon, smiling slightly as he gripped it and advanced toward the doorway. He flicked the lights on and looked around, the apartment was empty and nothing seemed disturbed; pulling on a pair of shorts and a shirt he grabbed a flashlight, flicked the lights back off and with shovel in hand crept down to the pier.

Sinking down to a crouch he surveyed the inky water of the canal, and frowned as he tossed a shroud of invisibility around himself, he sank down lower eyes zeroed in on a round head-like shape bobbing in the moonlit water nearly a fifty meters away. "What the hell," Zac murmured again softly as the shape abruptly vanished with a soft splash and a ring of ripples. Standing Zac let the shroud of invisibility slip away, flipped on the flashlight and shown it over the canal….nothing.

He then turned the light to the beach and his breath caught in his throat, there in the sand were unmistakable drag marks of heavy tail, and the imprints of human hands. Standing slowly Zac surveyed the scene again and then jogged up to the apartment to grab his cell phone and keys from the bedside stand, locking the door he went up to the main house and slipped inside to dial Evie.

"Yeah, I know, I left you at Rita's, and I'm sorry," He said, wincing as Evie yelled at him through the phone. "But I saw something tonight in the canal and I think we have a big problem."


	5. Chapter 5

Mako Mermaids the HBO Version, Chapter Five

"Cameron, telephone!" Doris Walker shouted from where she stood on the back porch and looked out at the darkened snow covered yard toward the barns. Piles of snow, pushed up earlier in the day by her husband Jim, were heaped under the tall wooden poles that held security lights on either side of the yard. From where she stood, arms folded against the cold, Doris could see the top of her only grandson's blue Winnipeg Jets stocking hat as he crouched behind one of the snow walls. What was supposed to have been an evenly matched snowball fight involving Cameron, his sisters Melanie and Chloe, their cousins Jenny, Hannah, and Jenny's boyfriend Todd, had devolved into girls versus boys. The guys being outnumbered two to one, but thanks to the darkness and a few guerilla tactics, the odds turned out to be even.

"It's Cam grandma!" Cam shouted back, his breath steamed in the frosty air as he avoided a snowball hurled at him by his younger sister Chloe. "Nobody calls me Cameron!"

"I do!" Doris shouted back. "Now come in here and answer the phone, it's some girl named Carly, and she's calling from Australia, and the rest of you should come in, it's too dark and cold for you to be out this late, and we'll be eating soon."

"Why would Carly be calling Cam?" Chloe asked Melanie as Cam ran for the warmth of his grandparents rambling Manitoba farmhouse. At 13 Chloe was already as tall as Melanie, having inherited the dark hair and height of their father's Australian Harris family. Melanie, like Cam, and much to the delight of their grandpa Jim, took after the Canadian Walker side with her shorter build and light hair. "It would be morning back home wouldn't it?"

"It's already tomorrow back home, maybe she's wishing him an early happy New Year." Melanie shrugged, as Todd walked over to join them. "She must have gotten grandmas number from mom and dad."

"Who's Carly anyway?" Hannah asked. "Cams girlfriend?"

"No, she's just a friend," Melanie explained as Chloe headed toward the house. "It's weird she'd call though since its morning back home."

"Maybe she wants to know when you're coming back. Like when are you guys flying back anyway, you told me once but I forgot?" Jenny asked and clumsily pulled a cell phone from her pocket with heavily gloved fingers and checked the time. "Shit its like 5:30, hey Todd want to warm up the truck?"

"We fly out of Winnipeg on the 7th, and the flights take forever, but we'll be back home by the 9th." Melanie answered as Todd walked over to start his truck. "Cam will help me chaperone everyone around Vancouver and Sydney since Dawn and Heather are always a handful."

"Cool, you'll be here for New Years," Hannah commented. "So like we're having a party at mom and dad's, and I know grandma and grandpa are going so we'll no doubt see you there, it'll be a blast."

"That'll be like grandpa's last big holiday with Cam, so you know the beer is going to flow like crazy," Jenny said to Todd as he walked back over, seeing his puzzled look Jenny explained, "Cam's like the only boy in our whole family, so grandpa thinks he's awesome, so we'll like have a big party for him before he goes home."

"Anyway we better get going its getting kind of late and mom gets worried," Hannah said. "So I guess we'll see you in a few days right?"

"Definitely, see you on New Year's, I can't wait," Melanie waved goodbye and waited as the trio climbed into Todd's truck and drove off. She stood for several moments, savoring the cold crisp air, before she turned and walked into the warmth of her grandparents' house. "Where's Cam?" Melanie asked as she removed her boots and Carhartts in the hallway and peered into the kitchen. Grandma Doris, as always, was hovering around the stove, the smell of roast beef filling the air as she directed Chloe in the proper way to mash potatoes.

"He's in his bedroom on the phone," Chloe answered. "He didn't look very happy."

"Would you go up and see if he's all right," Doris said over her shoulder. "He looked upset and he's usually not like that."

Melanie pulled her hat off to hang it on a hook before walking over to the stairs leading to the second floor. "Okay, I'll go find out what's bothering him."

"Tell him we'll be eating as soon as your grandfather gets back from the store with the twins," Doris reminded as she watched her granddaughter disappear up the stairs to find Cam.

* * *

"Cam, you okay?" Melanie asked, knocking lightly on the door that had been Cams room for the past two weeks.

"Yeah, come on in," Cams voiced drifted through the closed door.

Melanie pushed the door open to find her younger brother sitting on the bed, the cordless phone beside him. "So what did Carly call about?"

Cam sat eyes downcast for a few moments before he looked up her, "It was about David, I guess he's hurt and not doing very well."

"David Wilson, you're friend David? Joe Wilson's slightly less annoying little brother? Dad handles all their accounts right?" Melanie asked with a mixture of shock and curiosity as she took a seat on the bed. "What happened?"

"Carly said he was found on the beach, she thinks he was beaten up and someone robbed him after he closed the Ocean Cafe for the night," Cam answered. "I guess the police found him on the beach at Surfers naked, which is weird. Why would someone steal his clothes, David can't even swim so it's not like he would go for a skinny dip. Oh, and Carly said there was an earthquake around Mako Island, but nobody was hurt."

"Oh shit!" Melanie exclaimed and then asked, "Is he okay? Who the hell would do that to him?"

"Well Carly was crying and she didn't make a lot of sense," Cam answered. "I guess David's at Robina Hospital, with a tube down his throat or something." Standing Cam walked to the bedroom window and looked out in frustration. "I'm going to have to call her back when she calms down and find out what she was talking about."

"Or maybe" Melanie answered carefully, "You could just call your best mate Zac and ask him what's going on."

Cam's face fell as he looked at his sister. "Zac and I aren't exactly talking, you know that." Cam plopped down on the bed next to her again. "Besides even if I call him, he'd probably just hang up, he hates me."

"I still think you should call him anyway, seriously you know the saying 'when hell freezes over' and trust me based on what it's like outside, were damn close," Melanie laughed softly. "I don't know exactly what you two fought about, except it involved those freaky girls that live with Principal Santos, but breaking up your friendship with Zac over them is ridiculous. Seriously, give him a call."

"Well, not all of them are freaky," Cam said hesitantly, and then heaved a sigh and threw himself backward on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "Shit, I have my first real white Christmas in 11 years with grandma's pancakes, and then I have to find out one my best friend is in the hospital, and I have no idea what's going on back home. And I bet the only person who actually knows anything can't stand to be around me anymore."

"Well," Melanie said as she rose and walked to the door. "Just think, two weeks and we'll all be home, I'm sure everything will be sorted by then." She paused briefly in the doorway and added, "And for the record, I've always thought Zac was rather dense, cute, great body, but still dense. So I'm sure he'll get over whatever the problem is. You two have always best mates, so seriously, try and call him; he's probably bored to hell with you gone."

"Okay, I'll try to Skype him or leave a message on his wall and see if he answers, although I'm pretty sure he hates me and will ignore it. Tell Grandma I'll be down in a little while," Cam answered as his sister vanished into the hallway, rising he walked over to the window of his bedroom he leaned against the sill and looked out, his breath fogging the window slightly. "Zac, what the hell have you been up to on Mako, and what the hell are making David do?" He asked softly as his eyes gazed up at the full moon as it illuminated the cold snow covered fields that surrounded his grandparent's Canadian farm.


	6. Chapter 6

Mako Mermaids the HBO Version, Chapter Six

"Where have you been, I've been trying to call for three hours?" Evie exclaimed as Zac opened the front door of his parents' house to let her in. "Were you out swimming?" She looked at his wet hair curiously. "I didn't think you were going to do that after last night?"

"Everything is fine Evie, I was in the shower," Zac answered as he ran a hand through his damp hair. "I slept on the couch, and this morning I called mom and spent half an hour explaining things were okay and her and dad didn't have to come back early from Melbourne. Then I took a shower."

"A shower?" Evie asked skeptically. "For three hours?"

"I haven't been able to take a shower or a bath since July," Zac explained as he stepped aside to let her in. "So I just sat in the shower forever, it was fantastic."

"Okay, well as long as you're alright, I'm still trying to come to grips with a lot of this; you grow a tail, then you don't grow a tail. I can't stay long though, I need to help dad with some stuff today, but at least I know you're okay." Evie said as she sat down on the sofa. "Are you going over to Rita's? After what happened yesterday I wasn't sure if you were."

"Yeah," Zac answered as he walked into the kitchen to pour some coffee for both of them. "I promised Sirena I'd take her to the hospital to see David, hopefully he's stable enough and we can visit. And I sort of have to apologize to Ms. Santos, I shouldn't have gone off on her like that, but I go so mad, and I still don't trust her." He handed her cup of coffee and sat down in a chair opposite.

"Zac," Evie said seriously setting her coffee cup down and looking at him. "After yesterday you've got a damn good reason not to trust them." She paused and went on, "It's bad enough that our high school principal is a mermaid, but she also has The Batcave under her house with a tunnel to the ocean. It takes a lot of time and money to build and hide a place like that. So how does a mermaid do it?"

"I don't know, I never really thought about it, but now I'm starting to." Zac answered. "Who built the Mooncave, and who built the cave where the Trident was hid? And who made the Trident in the first place?"

"I know, it's scary and weird," Evie responded. "Mind control, secret underground lairs; are they mermaids or aliens?"

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing," Zac said leaning back to look at ceiling. "If it wasn't for what happened to me, I'd think they were aliens. Something is going on Evie, I'm missing part of the picture and none of them will tell me, all they seem to do is manipulate and control me." He sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if Cam was right after all, I should have listened to him. He'd have this sorted by now."

"WHOA!" Evie exclaimed holding a hand up. "Let's not go that far! He lied to me; he lied to you, and THEN left me to drown in the magic cave of never ending water. So forgive me if I'm unwilling to forget he almost killed me, and will never trust him again."

"But why did he do that Evie?" Zac asked looking at her, his expression pained. "I thought a lot about this yesterday. If I hadn't turned my back on him and put my trust in a group of mermaids I didn't know, would any of this have happened? He kept warning me the entire time when all of them were lying to me." He stood up and walked to the kitchen to absently dump his coffee and pour another cup and continued, "I even kicked Cam out my house one day when he started questioning who they were and where they came from! Then after I found out who they were, he still warned me, and I still sided with them. Hell I even sat there while Ms. Santos practically lied through your interview, and STILL sided with them against you! " Zac sat down again and demanded, "Why would I do that? How did they MAKE me do that! I lost my best friend because of them, and I have to find a way to make this right."

"Are you serious?" Evie asked. "After what he did to me, you want to suddenly play nice and apologize? If you look up 'greedy bastard' in the dictionary Zac you'll see a picture of Cam."

"I don't know," Zac tossed his hands up as his voice rose. "I just think there's something wrong with all of this, I screwed everyone over and don't know why! I feel like I have no control over my life, and I'm tired of it!"

"Zac, relax," Evie soothed and held her palms up as she changed the subject. "I'm not the enemy here and I really don't think Sirena, Lyla and Nixie are- well Nixie might be she's kind of bitch. But I know Lyla likes you, a lot, and Sirena adores you."

"Sirena?" Zac asked skeptically. "Sirena is afraid of me; she's been tiptoeing around me for weeks. Yesterday was the first time in a while she's talked to me or gotten close."

"She met David because of you, trust me, she adores you more than you can imagine. And Lyla feels the same way." Evie remarked as she pulled her phone out and checked her messages. "Damn, I have to get going; dad just text, he has a diving group from Greece booked for Wednesday, at the last minute and needs my help." She stood up and walked to the door. "And Zac, about Cam, he left me to die, and if it wasn't for you, I would be. It's going take me a long time to get over that, so I hope you'll understand if I'm not as quick to forgive him as you are. Anyway, I'll try and stop by the hospital later, but if I can't make it, tell David he's in my prayers."

"I will," Zac sighed as he watched her go and sat for several moments absently twirling a finger in thought, a miniature waterspout forming in his coffee, before he stood, finally, and walked outside to the pier. Zac looked down at the drag marks in the sand and scowled before he grabbed a rake to wipe them from existence, he then walked to his apartment unlocked it and hauled his ten-speed down from its ceiling rack.

"Been a while," Zac said to the bike as he aired up its tires, checked things over and carried it outside before locking up again. Leaving the bike he walked down to the sandy beach and sank to a crouch his gaze fixed on the canal. "Kiss my ass whoever you are," Zac said softly as his eyes scanned the water. "I know you're out there, so watch how land people roll."

* * *

"Zac," Rita spoke in surprise as she opened the door. "How did you-"

"I rode my bike over," Zac answered quickly. "It's been a while since I've done that." He took a breath and rubbed his palms together nervously, and then continued. "Ms. Santos, I want to apologize for yesterday, I said some things when I was angry, and I'm really sorry."

"I understand Zac," Rita answered. "You have been placed under tremendous pressure and there are things happening to you that I can't even begin to understand. I also wasn't the greatest help yesterday either, so some of the blame is mine. I think I've been playing the 'mysterious mermaid' hand a little too heavy." She indicated a pair of chairs and a small table on the patio area next to the condos garage. "The girls are downstairs waiting for you; I believe they think you're swimming over. So if you want to talk for a while we can."

"No that's alright. Did any of them go out last night?" Zac asked; he remained standing while Rita sat down. "Or did you?"

"No why?"

Zac briefly filled Rita in on the details of the night before and the strange drag marks and hand prints in the sand. He then added, "I talked to Evie about it by the way; she filled me in on everything that happened yesterday."

"Evie is extraordinarily clever, more than she's willing to admit." Rita said as her eyes narrowed in thought. "All three of the girls stayed in last night and so did I, so it couldn't have been any of us. Zac are you sure about what you think you saw?"

"Positive," He answered, and sat down finally. "And all day at Mako it felt strange, and this morning I felt the same way, I think I'm being watched, but if it wasn't any of you, then who is it."

"I don't know," Rita agreed absently, her eyes lost in thought. "Maybe someone in the Mako pod? I think for the next few days Zac it would be a good idea if we kept our eyes out for anything else unusual."

"And I also don't want anyone to go out to the reefs, or Mako alone," Zac asserted. "There's too many strange things happening and I don't like any of this and don't want anyone to get hurt."

"I agree," Rita said her eyes still distant. "The past several days have been strange and we should all stick together."

Zac looked at Rita for several moments, pursing his lips then asked. "I also have a question and I want an honest answer from you."

"Yes?" Rita asked startled, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts.

Zac too several deep breaths, and then plunged ahead. "Ever since this happened to me, I've been doing things to hurt all my friends and constantly defending Lyla, Nixie and Sirena, sometimes when I know it's wrong for me to do it." He paused, staring at the older mermaid intensely. "I've even defended you and I don't know why I'm doing it. Why am I acting this way Rita? Have they, have you, done something to control me, because if you have I'm not going to tolerate it anymore."

Rita swallowed nervously eyes lowered, and said, "Zac, imagine Lyla, Sirena, Nixie and myself, by extension, are a pod of whales, and a strong, powerful bull whale arrives and joins the pod. What does that bull whale do if something, anything, threatens the rest of the pod."

"He fights them off," Zac answered softly, eyes narrowed. "Rita, is that what I've been doing? Are you saying I've been acting like I'm part of a pod of whales and don't know it? And I've been protecting you and the girls without knowing it?"

Rita reached across the table and took one of Zacs hands in hers. "Zac, this isn't your fault, don't think that is, what's going on here, with us, with you, hasn't happened for a thousand years; as I said yesterday, you're gaining Powers I've never seen before, and don't understand. Nobody has seen a merman in thousands of years, so how you're acting may be completely normal to what you are. That's why it so important for John to get here, if he can't find an answer to this, then nobody can."

Zac narrowed his eyes in thought and said slowly, thoughtfully, "So what happens in a pod if the bull decides he doesn't want to be manipulated anymore, and he should be the one to decide what's dangerous and what's not?"

Rita's eyes opened wide and she swallowed nervously. "I suppose if that's the case, then the females in the pod are in for some very rough water." She paused then and looked at Zac, her eyes meeting his unflinching as she squeezed his hand. "But I also think the pod in question will be the safest pod the oceans have ever seen."

"Thanks," Zac said softly. "I think you've helped me to understand a lot more now." He sat silently for several moments before asking, "So when is this friend of yours arriving, and who is he anyway."

"His name is John, as I've said," Rita answered slowly. "And he's, well, John is an expert in the paranormal," She paused, briefly, "And a lot of other things. I guess that is the best explanation, I can give you."

"Paranormal?" Zac questioned skeptically. "As in ghosts and UFO's? Doesn't that seem kind of weird?"

"We grow tails and can turn invisible," Rita reminded. "Believe me if John can't make sense of what's happening, nobody can. He's should be arriving on the 1st, and then we can sort out what's going on."

"Good," Zac answered. "Because things are getting kind of scary and I really want to figure out what this all means." He stood then. "I better get going though, it's Sunday and the visiting hours at the hospital are limited, and I'd hate for Sirena to miss it." Zac paused at the door to the condo and looked at Rita. "And thanks for being honest with me. It's starting to make sense, but I still have a lot of questions that need answered."

"I know and I'm sorry if I've acted in a way that made you lose trust in me," Rita answered. "And I really do hope that David recovers. And I really hope I can earn your trust back."

"Thanks," Zac answered as he opened the door. "So do I."

* * *

"He's not coming," Lyla said tugging at her white terry cloth robe as she paced the side of the grotto pool nervously. "He's mad at all of us, and I know he won't be here."

"Yes he is," Sirena sighed from where she sat on the steps, unlike the other two mermaids she was dressed in a black and white flowered skirt with a matching top and shoes; she held a small clutch purse in her lap. "He promised me we would go see David today, so I know he'll be here."

"Then why isn't he here yet?" Lyla demanded. "Something's wrong."

"I don't think he's coming over either, not after the fight you said he had with Rita." Nixie added looking at the water of the pool skeptically, like Lyla she was wearing one of Rita's white bathrobes. "And I'm not sure we can trust him anymore anyway, not after what you said about his new Power, who has Powers like that? Nobody!"

"Nixie! It's Zac!" Sirena exclaimed. "Zac would never do anything to hurt any of us, so stop talking like that."

"And how do you know, after what happened in the Moonpool the other night, and what happened to Rita," Nixie said as she crossed her arms and stared at Sirena, "His eyes turned green and he caused an earthquake! He used his Powers to throw big rocks around, and he was shouting in a weird language! The Moonstone on the Trident shot fire Sirena, FIRE! Mermaids don't use fire! And look at my face!" She pointed to the huge bruise that covered half the right side of her face. "How can we trust someone like that? Mermaids never do things like that, mermaids never hurt each other!"

"Well unless you haven't been paying attention when Zac comes out of the water Nixie, he is defiantly NOT a mermaid," Sirena exclaimed.

"So what does that mean?" Nixie challenged. "Are you saying that just because he has something between his legs that we don't that he can do anything he wants? Isn't this what Rita said the mermen did, a war was fought Sirena, you know that."

"Nixie, that's disgusting, quit talking like that!" Lyla said arms folded. "Land people talk like that, not us! And I happen to agree with Sirena; Zac would never do anything to put us in danger."

"And how do you know that Zac won't go crazy like he did the other night and hurt us?" Nixie demanded, glaring first at Sirena and then at Lyla.

"Because it's Zac," Sirena said rising to her feet, her eyes fixed on Nixie as she spoke. "Zac is part of our pod Nixie whether you want him to be or not, so he deserves our trust."

"Then where is he?" Nixie answered in challenge again.

"I don't know," Lyla answered "But he should be here." She untied her robe and moved to the edge of the pool as she announced. "We're going to have to go over and find him, something's wrong."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Zac asked as he descended down the stairs into the grotto room. "I heard you yelling, is everything all right?"

"Zac!" Lyla exclaimed, and stepped over to hug him. "You didn't swim over so I didn't think you'd come. We were starting to get scared, and I thought something happened to you."

"Ah no, I rode my bike," Zac answered. He looked at Lyla and exclaimed, "Oh wow." He diverted his eyes uncomfortably from where she stood with the front of her robe untied and open.

Turning a shade of bright red, Lyla quickly closed her robe, tied it up, and asked. "Bike?" Her eyes were downcast not meeting Zacs and she bit her lip in a nervous gesture. "Why did you ride a bike over?"

"Are we riding a bike to the hospital?" Sirena asked curiously. "David tried to teach me once and I kept falling down, I didn't like it."

"Why didn't you swim over?" Nixie asked suspiciously.

"Okay," Zac said holding a hand up. "First, no Sirena we have to take a bus into Robina to get to the hospital; second, I didn't swim over here Nixie, because last night a mermaid tried to break into my house while I was out on Mako."

"Who?" Lyla asked alarmed as she, Nixie and Sirena exchanged glances and moved closer together. "We were all here, Evie was here, she can tell you, and Rita was here."

"I don't know who it was, but I talked to Rita and she's agreed that none of you should go to the reef or Mako alone." Zac explained. "It's safer that way."

Nixie snorted, "We can take care of ourselves, and we don't need you to tell us we can't." She shrugged. "At least we can go out and see who it was."

"Nixie I said NO!" Zac shouted, his voice ringing through the chamber and causing the three mermaids to jump and move closer together. "Until we figure out what the hell is going on, nobody goes out alone! Do you understand me Nixie?"

"Yes," Nixie said weakly, looking down at floor. "I guess I'll stay here, happy."

"I am now," Zac replied a slight smile playing on his lips as he looked over at Sirena. "Sirena are you ready to go?"

"Yes," She grinned in answer. "Which bus will be taking?" She dug around in her small purse and pulled out an orange and red twenty dollar note. "Will this be enough?"

"Wow," Zac stammered. "I think that will be more than enough. Where did you get that?"

Sirena looked at Lyla and Nixie, who glared at her, and then answered Zac, "Evie and Carly have been helping me sell bracelets. I hope that's okay and you're not mad?"

"That's fine," Zac answered looking at her oddly. "That's plenty to cover the bus fare."

"And lunch," Sirena said proudly pulling out two more twenty notes.

"Wow," Zac replied with a puzzled look. "Nice. How many bracelets have you sold?"

"I'm going with you," Lyla announced suddenly with a glare at Sirena. "To make sure she's okay."

"Lyla I'll be fine," Sirena said looking at the taller blonde mermaid. "Zac will be with me and he'll make sure-"

"And what if something happens to Zac? What will you do then?" Lyla interrupted. "You'll be lost. I'm coming with you."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you can't go dressed in a bath robe," Nixie commented.

"Yeah," Zac said. "Yeah, um, you really can't go dressed like that."

"How are we getting there?" Lyla asked nervously as she fidgeted with the robe, her cheeks turning red.

"Zac already said; a bus," Sirena answered, and then continued as she saw Lyla's uncomprehending look. "It's like a land person car, but bigger with more people and doesn't go as fast."

"You've been in car?" Zac and Nixie asked at the same time. "When?"

"I'll wait upstairs for Lyla to change," Sirena said quickly, and with a guilty expression on her face darted up the stairs.

"Okay," Zac said, walking over to gaze up the stairs, and then turned to look at the remaining mermaids. "Lyla why don't you go and get changed, and Nixie, I'm serious, no going out alone, alright?"

"Well I guess you're the boss," Nixie said sarcastically, did a mock salute and stomped past Zac and up the stairs that led to the condo.

"I am now," Zac said softly as his eyes followed the dark haired mermaid up the stairs.

"Zac, you really didn't need to yell at Nixie like that, she can take care of herself," Lyla said stepping over and placing a hand on his arm. "Are you alright, you've been scaring all us the past few days, and I was worried when you didn't show up. Something is going on Zac; I could feel it when I went out earlier-"

"I wish you hadn't done that," Zac interrupted. "I don't want you to get hurt." He squeezed her hand gently. "I'm being watched Lyla, I think all of us might be."

"By who?" Lyla asked her eyes narrowing. "Who would be watching you? Our pod left ages ago, Aquata came back once, but then left again, that was several months ago. You don't think they've come back do you?"

"I don't know," Zac answered. "But I rode my bike over because I knew I wouldn't be followed. I don't want them to know about this place."

Lyla nodded. "We'll have to find another place to go to sea, if we need to, Nixie won't like it." She said. "But we can't be tracked back here that way. I better go and get changed, since we're taking a, bus?"

"Yes a bus," Zac smiled. "Sirena apparently knows what they are, and I'll explain it to you on the way to the stop."

"Stop?" Lyla questioned.

Zac sighed, "It's were we get on the bus. Go get changed, Sirena and I will meet you out front, and we'll try to explain everything."

* * *

"Wow, you're handling this bus ride so much better than Lyla," Zac said looking over at Sirena as both watched Lyla being sick behind some bushes. They had managed to make five stops on the TRANSLink 765 to Robina before Lyla said she had to throw up. Zac was actually grateful since it relieved his arm of the death grip that the increasingly panicked mermaid had given it the entire ride. "I don't know why I thought you'd never been in a car or anything like that before."

"David and Joe let me ride in the delivery van with them when they go out to the warehouse." Sirena answered. "I got sick at first, like Lyla, but then it went away. I didn't even get sick when David took me up to the mountains."

"You went with David to the mountains?" Zac asked curiously.

"Tamborine Mountain, I thought it was funny because it sounds like a music instrument," Sirena laughed. "We stayed in a big hotel, with a big restaurant, and David ordered a bunch of food and a bottle of pink bubbly juice that made us laugh a lot." Sirena's eye glowed as she continued, "And our room had a big bed and fireplace, with a fire, and big windows and it was green forever, like the sea, but it was all trees! David drank more bubble stuff because he said he was nervous and then acted like a dolphin-" Sirena froze as her face turned pink and then pale, her eyes darting down to the ground.

"What? Dolphin?" Zac said looking at Sirena puzzled. "You and David stayed at a hotel? Overnight? What did you two do in a hotel overnigh- Oh my God!"

Sirena's face turned paler as she looked down not meeting Zacs eyes as she whispered, "I'm sorry, please don't be mad, I don't want you to be mad."

"Oh my God," Zac said in shock. "You? And David, did-? Oh my God."

"Please don't be mad Zac, please," Sirena pleaded, eyes downcast. "I don't want you to be mad, and please don't hurt David."

"What? Why would I hurt David? Why would I be mad?" Zac asked as he noticed Sirena's sudden submissive behavior. "Sirena , what's wrong?"

Sirena stood silent for a few moments staring at the pavement before she answered. "You're stronger than David and you're bigger than me and I don't want you to be mad and hurt us because I didn't ask you first."

"Sirena look at me," Zac said placing a hand under her chin and forcing her to look at him. "We're not dolphins or seals or whatever, people don't act that way, and I don't act that way." He then added, "Is this why you've been avoiding me? You think I'd hurt you? You think I'd hurt David? I would never do that to either one of you."

"So you're not mad at me and David?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him. "You're the only one in our pod that would understand, nobody else knows, and I don't want you to be mad and kick me out."

"I would certainly not kick you out of the pod because you and David are well," He paused. "Well, doing what two normal teenagers do; God I sound like my dad now." Zac let out small laugh. "So no, I'm not mad, just kind of surprised, I guess David is getting pointers from Joe."

"Joe wasn't there," Sirena blurted and wiped tears away before saying with alarm, "Was he supposed to be? I know when dolphins and whales-"

"No, defiantly NO," Zac interrupted uncomfortably, and then said lamely, "No, um, landboys might act like dolphins, but when they do, um, dolphin things, they, um, like privacy."

"You're not mad?" Sirena asked again, nervously as she looked at Zac, her eyes pleading. "And you're not going to hurt us because we didn't ask? We won't do it again if you don't want us to."

"No, um, you and David are fine, I'm glad you two are, ah, happy, and um, yeah you have my permission to do, ah, dolphin things," Zac stammered, and caught site of Lyla stepping out unsteadily from the overgrown shrubs. "Um, yeah, oh look, there's Lyla."

"Please don't tell her, or any of the others," Sirena begged. "Please, Zac."

"I, um, I won't, trust me, I won't say a word," Zac promised. "I, I have to check the bus schedule." He stopped and let out a groan he watched Lyla run for the bushes again.

"I don't think Lyla is going to make it Zac," Sirena said as moved to stand next to Zac and watch as Lyla began dry heaving behind the bushes.

"She's okay," Zac said, waving several curious onlookers off who stopped see what was going on. "My, my girlfriend," He said, and scowled at Sirena's laugh of joy, "Gets sick on buses." Zac sighed and looked at Lyla who had clutched her stomach and threw nothing up even though she was trying. "We're going to have to take her back to Rita's."

"I think so, but I hope it doesn't make us late to the hospital," Sirena answered and pulled a small Samsung phone from her purse and checked the time. "It's almost noon now."

"You have a mobile phone to!" Zac exclaimed and looked skyward, and then back the mermaid beside him. "Just promise me you haven't started smoking."


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors note: Sorry it's taken so long to get this published, I wanted to have it out by the first of the year, but I got totally addicted to the Korean drama "The Great Queen Seondeok" on Netflix, and kind of stopped writing. However I have finally sat down and finished this even though I can hear MiShil (God she's like the Cersei Lannister, but smarter, of Ancient Korea) in the background beckoning to me. Anyway enjoy this, and I'll try to get Chapter 8 done, even if it means shutting Netflix off. **

**Warning: The following Chapter contains some strong language, reader discretion is advised.**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Are you ready?" Zac asked softly as he looked over at blonde mermaid beside him, Sirena's complexion was visibly pale, her eyes wide with fear as she through the glass windows of the ICU room that contained David. Zac, his own eyes holding a faint glimmer of tears as he took her hand in his.

"I guess this is really about to happen isn't it," Sirena swallowed as she clutched Zacs hand, her blue eyes tearing up. Sirena's initial bubbly enthusiasm had faded after she and Zac had dropped off Lyla, who was still sick, at Rita's, and once more boarded the bus heading back to the hospital in Robina. The closer they got to their destination, the more subdued Sirena had become, and finally lapsed into terrified silence as they walked the halls of the hospital to the ICU that contained David. "I'm glad you're here Zac." She said softly. "I'm really scared and don't like this place."

"I will always be here Sirena, and you don't have to be afraid," He answered and took several deep breaths before asking again. "Ready?"

Sirena nodded silent in answer, a tear rolled down her cheek as she allowed Zac to lead her into to the open door to the ICU room. The room was quiet save for the soft beeping of the heart monitors, and the hiss of the ventilator unit. Joe was sprawled out in a chair by the window overlooking the creek behind the hospital with his eyes closed, Carly beside him, her arm linked in his, her head resting on his shoulder as she slept.

Zac knocked softly and waited.

Joe opened eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep, at the sound of Zacs knock and shook his head to clear it. "Oh, hey Zac," He said sitting up and brightened as he caught sight of Sirena. "Sirena," Joe said as he untangled himself from Carly, who had come awake at his movement. Joe stood and crossed the room to embrace the Sirena. "I'm so glad you made it."

"Joe, I'm so sorry," Sirena whispered as she returned his hug briefly her entire body shaking as her eyes, wide with horror, looked at the tubes, wires, and the dripping IV bags attached to David's still body. "But I don't know what to do, what am I supposed to do? I think I better go, I don't think I should be here." She said backing into Zac who stood in the doorway behind her. "Zac can we go, I don't like this."

"No, no, no," Carly said as she stood up and crossed the room to take one of Sirena's hands in her own. "David needs you Sirena, you can't go, and you just got here." She pleaded; her eyes like Joes were red and bloodshot from lack of sleep and tears. "Please he needs you, Sirena you HAVE to stay!"

"It's okay," Zac said placing a hand on the mermaids shoulder and squeezing lightly. "Carly's right, you can't leave, not until you at least say hi to him."

"Joe, why don't you pull a chair over so she can sit with David," Carly said, embracing Sirena. "It's okay, seriously, I'm glad you came." She then turned and hugged Zac. "And you to, you have been a stranger for too long, but I understand."

"Carly I'm so sorry," Zac answered as he hugged her back. "I've been having, well, problems-" He trailed off with a sigh, glancing over to where Joe had pulled a chair up to the bed next to David and beckoned for Sirena to have a seat.

"Don't worry," Carly said, taking a step back and giving a weak smile. "I understand, Evie told me, and once I figured it all out, it made sense, believe me I know what you're going through."

"You do?" Zac asked cautiously looking at her with a hint of alarm. "What did Evie tell you?"

"Well, she didn't tell me everything, but you gave out plenty of hints once I started thinking about it." Carly answered. "I acted the same way with my friends when my parents were having problems and then split. My brother and I went through hell, but I just want you know you're not alone."

Zac stared for several moments. "Thanks. Mom and dad are out of town so I think they'll have everything sorted by the time they get back." He lied with relief. "I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting the past few months."

"Hey," Joe interrupted walking over to join Carly and Zac; he extended his hand to Zac and then pulled him into an embrace. "Thanks for coming man, David will appreciate it," He said.

"How's he doing?" Zac asked looking over to where Sirena sat, holding one of David's hands and crying.

"Well, the doctors said something about warm sea water and lack of diving reflex, whatever that means," Joe explained as he took a step back and looked over at David. "I didn't know what they were talking about, but-" He paused as his voice cracked, and then continued. "He's not doing very well. I know we fight all the time, and he thinks I'm lazy and worthless and I make fun of him all the time, but, but I never wanted this, and mom and dad have already…they already…" He stopped abruptly and took a deep breath and changed the subject. "He didn't even know how to swim. How did this even happen?"

Carly reached out and entwined her one of her arms in Joes as her eyes teared up and her voice shook as she said, "It's okay Joe. Zacs dad is a doctor I think he'll understand. You can tell him."

Joe lowered his voice and glanced back at Sirena, closed his eyes and said quietly, "Mom and dad have already been talked to about organ donation, but they haven't decided anything yet."

"Oh God," Zac breathed as he glanced over Joes shoulder to where Sirena sat clutching David's hand.

"Jackie is flying in from Sydney today, mom and dad went to pick her up in Brisbane," Joe said, wiping his eyes, he gave a small nervous laugh. "She gave him so much crap when she came home for Christmas, she's still gives Davie and me shit for breaking into her room and ripping the heads off her Barbie's when we were kids. She's a total wreck over this; did you know she gave him his name when he came home from the hospital?" Joe's eyes filled with tears as he took several breaths to calm down. He took a stepped closer to Zac and said softly. "Please don't tell Sirena, please, she's great, but there's something… about her, I know she wouldn't understand. And we can't tell her any of this yet. God I'm sorry."

"I won't say anything," Zac said, his eyes glimmering with unreleased tears as he looked over to where Sirena sat holding David's still hand to her cheek.

"I think Joe and I should go get some coffee," Carly said as nurse in green scrubs walked into the room and began checking the IV bags and monitor readings. "We'll let you two have some time alone." She paused as Joe walked over to calm Sirena down as the nurse examined David's still body, and then said in a low voice, "I called Cam, I know you two had a big fight and aren't talking, but he needed to know."

Zac bit his lip nervously, "Has he stopped by?"

Carly's eyes narrowed with a hint of irritation. "No, he's Canada at his grandparents." She said flatly.

"Oh," Zac answered, averting his gaze from Carly. "I, I didn't know."

"That's why I called him," Carly answered and sighed heavily. "When this is over, and if…I mean when…David recovers, we're all going to have to get together, like we used to….this just sucks."

"Yeah, it does," Zac sighed, as Joe walked back over to join them.

"Ready?" Carly asked Joe, and when he nodded she looked at Zac. "We'll be back in a bit, did you need anything? Coffee or whatever?"

"No," Zac answered as he looked over to where Sirena who had started to sing softly as she held David's hand. "I think we'll be okay, thanks."

"We'll probably grab something to eat," Joe said and reached to place a hand on Zacs shoulder. "And Zac, thanks for bringing her, she means the world to David, we'll see you in a little bit."

Zac stood, helpless, as he watched Carly and Joe leave, and then walked over to Sirena. "You okay?" He asked.

"I'm okay, scared, but okay. I don't know what all these machines are for and I'm scared," She replied, stopping her singing as tears running down her cheeks. "I don't what to do."

"Talk to him, or keep singing," Zac said with a weak smile as he reached down and clasped David's hand. "Hey mate, we're here and we want you to come back." His voice cracked as he said, "Remember when your mom took you, Cam and I to 'Finding Nemo', remember that David, remember? Just keep swimming buddy, and please come back to us." Releasing David's hand, Zac folding his arms, and walked to the window, looking out he started to cry as Sirena began singing again behind him.

* * *

"Zac," Sirena said her voice soft but filled with alarm.

"Yes," Zac answered turning from where he was stared longingly out the window for the past ten minutes at the waters of Mudgeeraba Creek as it ran behind the hospital. He let out a small gasp; the Moonring on Sirena's finger had started to glow with a faint blue aura in response to her soft singing. "Sirena what does that mean?" He asked taking a step forward and wiping tears from his eyes.

"It's magic Zac, mermaid magic," She answered her chest beginning to heave in the rapid panting of panic and fear as she grasped David's hand tighter. "It's Aquatas ring, she gave it me before the pod left."

"Sirena, relax," Zac said walking over and placing a hand on hers he asked, "What kind of magic, the kind that would make David try to swim when he can't? The enchantment song?"

"Yes," Sirena sobbed. "Enchantment magic, someone used enchantment magic on him so he'd try to drown," Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she rose and tried to smooth David's hair. "His hair is too curly it won't stay in place," She cried.

"It can be broken right?" Zac breathed. His voice grew tight with a hint of anger as he continued, "How do we break it? Sirena, do you know how to break it?"

"Rita has a shell horn that will break it," She answered through her tears. "But it will only work if David is awake, and he's not going to wake up, he'll never wake up now. The only other way is for the mermaid who did it to-" She stopped, tear filled eyes wide as she looked at Zacs anger filled face, and then back down to David. "If the mermaid who did it dies."

Zac placed a hand on the mermaids shoulder, his eyes darting around in panicked realization. "Sirena, who besides you could do this, who else knows that song? You said Aquata, did she do this?"

She was silent save for her sobbing for several moments, and with her eyes fixed on David answered in a soft voice, "It was Aquata; Aquata knows the song, this was her ring and that's how I know. She taught the song to me, it's secret and forbidden, and Aquata and I were the only ones able to sing it." Sirena looked up again, finally, meeting Zacs eyes. "Why would she do this Zac, why would she do this to David? Why would she do this to me?"

"I don't know," Zac answered, his eyes flat with anger as he reached down and clasp one hand on Sirena's, his other forming a tight fist as he looked into her blue eyes with his brown ones. "But I need you to be strong Sirena; can you be strong for me?" He took a breath and continued his eyes hard, tears forgotten, as she nodded. "You know what this means don't you? They tried to kill David." He waited until she nodded in acknowledgement and then placed both his hands on her shoulders as he looked her in the eye and said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to find the ones who did this and I'm going to make them pay, and they are going to suffer for what they did. I don't care if Aquata is your sister, NOBODY fucks with my pod, NOBODY fucks with my friends! You understand right?"

Sirena nodded silently, her lips trembling, and then began to sink to the floor as her knees buckled under her. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," She sobbed as Zac caught her before she fell, she buried her face in his shoulder, leaving it wet with her tears. "This is my fault, I should have stayed on Mako, I should have stayed away, and I should have never come onto land. This is my fault. If it wasn't for me David would be alive, I killed him and it's all my fault. I'm so sorry!"

"No it's not, you didn't do this, you didn't do any of this," Zac replied, hugging her fiercely. "None of this is your fault, never, ever think it was. You didn't do it, they did, understand? " He held Sirena then at arm's length to look at her. "I'm going to make this right you understand, I'm going to make all of this right."

Sirena wiped tears away and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry Zac, I didn't know this would happen, and I'm so sorry, and I don't know why Aquata would do this, please don't hate me." She took a breath and met Zacs eyes briefly before looking down again. "So what do we do know, how can we help David? I don't want you to hate me."

Zac turned and looked out the window in thought. "First, I don't hate you and I never will, and I'm going to take you back to Rita's were you're safe." He then turned to look at David and then back Sirena. "Then we find out why all this is happening, and hope David lives long enough to get him to Mako on the next full moon. And I have no idea how we're going to do it," He turned back to place a hand on David's and squeezed it. "But it's the only way to bring him back."

"Thank you Zac," Sirena sobbed hugging him again as her tears dampened his shoulder.


End file.
